Aussie software pirate extradited

Hew Raymond Griffiths has been extradited to the US following copyright infringement piracy and consiracy charges.Photo: Richard Gosling

BEFORE he was extradited to the United States, Hew Griffiths,
from Berkeley Vale in NSW, had never even set foot in America. But
he had pirated software produced by American companies.

Now, having been given up to the US by former justice minister
Chris Ellison, Griffiths, 44, is in a Virginia cell, facing up to
10 years in an American prison after a guilty plea late last
month.

Griffiths' case - involving one of the first extraditions
for intellectual property crime - has been a triumph for US
authorities, demonstrating their ability to enforce US laws
protecting US companies against Australians in Australia, with the
co-operation of the Australian Government.

"Our agents and prosecutors are working tirelessly to nab
intellectual property thieves, even where their crimes transcend
international borders," US Attorney Chuck Rosenberg said.

In some corners of the Australian legal community, however,
there is concern about Griffiths' case. In a recent article for the
Australian Law Journal, NSW Chief Judge in Equity, Peter
Young, wrote: "International copyright violations are a great
problem. However, there is also the consideration that a country
must protect its nationals from being removed from their homeland
to a foreign country merely because the commercial interests of
that foreign country are claimed to have been affected by the
person's behaviour in Australia and the foreign country can
exercise influence over Australia."

Griffiths, a Briton, has lived in Australia since the age of
seven. From his home base on the central coast of NSW, he served as
the leader of a group named Drink Or Die, which "cracked"
copy-protected software and media products and distributed them
free of cost. Often seen with long hair and bare feet, Griffiths
did not make money from his activities, and lived with his father
in a modest house.

But Drink or Die's activities did cost American companies money
 an estimated $US50 million ($A60 million), if legal sales
were substituted for illegal downloads undertaken through Drink or
Die. It also raised the ire of US authorities.

In 2003, the US Department of Justice charged Griffiths with
violating the copyright laws of the US, and requested his
extradition from Australia. Senator Ellison signed a notice for
Griffiths' arrest and Australian Federal Police arrested him at his
home.

Griffiths fought the prospect of extradition through the courts
for three years, in which time he was denied bail and detained in
prison. He indicated that he would be willing to plead guilty to a
breach of Australian copyright law, which meant he could serve time
in Australia.

Last year, Griffiths ran out of avenues for appeal in Australia.
His fate lay in the hands of Senator Ellison, who had the power to
refuse Griffiths' extradition. But in December, Senator Ellison
issued a warrant for extradition  a decision welcomed by the
US Government. Griffiths' extradition in February is believed to be
the first out of Australia for a breach of intellectual property
law.

"This extradition represents the (US) Department of Justice's
commitment to protect intellectual property rights from those who
violate our laws from the other side of the globe," US Assistant
Attorney-General Alice Fisher said.

But Justice Young described as "bizarre" the fact that "people
are being extradited to the US to face criminal charges when they
have never been to the US and the alleged act occurred wholly
outside the US".

Griffiths appears to have been singled out by US authorities.
British-based members of Drink or Die were reportedly tried in
Britain. Last month, in news that slipped the local media's radar,
Hew Griffiths pleaded guilty in a US District Court in Alexandria,
Virginia, to criminal copyright infringement offences. According to
US authorities, Griffiths admitted to overseeing all the illegal
operations of the now-disbanded Drink Or Die.

On top of a possible 10-year jail term, Griffiths could be fined
$US500,000. (By way of comparison, the average sentence for rape in
Victoria is six years and 10 months.)

Any Australian who has pirated software worth more than $US1000
could be subject to the same extradition process as Griffiths was.
"Should not the Commonwealth Parliament do more to protect
Australians from this procedure?" Justice Young asked in his
article. Others, however, argue that extradition is necessary to
prevent internet crimes that transcend borders.